
ArmInfo. Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party is carrying out a program of “denationalization” of Armenia and the Armenian people in the country. Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of the Armenian parliament from the opposition Armenia faction and a representative of the Supreme Body of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun (ARFD), stated this at a press conference in Yerevan on September 16.
According to him, the current authorities are waging a consistent struggle against national ideology. "This is a struggle against Armenian identity, against Armenian unity and the national image. The ruling Civil Contract party is carrying out a program of denationalization of Armenia and the Armenian people. At the demand of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it is trying to change Armenia’s Constitution and obtain an Armenia deprived of its historical memory and identity. In addition, it seeks to create an Armenia in which the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) does not occupy its special place, and people’s rights are secondary," Saghatelyan stated.
He pointed out that the ARFD, as a pan-Armenian national political force, is one of the main targets of the current authorities, but far from the only one. In this regard, the parliamentarian recalled what is happening today with various political figures and the AAC. "Therefore, the ruling party must be completely eliminated. It brings the Armenian people nothing but misfortune, death and tragedy. This is the force under which we lost our homeland, while Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity were completely undermined," the opposition politician noted.
Responding to a statement by Arman Yeghoyan, a member of parliament from the ruling Civil Contract faction, that "MP Kristine Vardanyan should become the last representative of the ARFD," the parliamentarian recalled that this was being said by a government that had received two legacies from it—two Armenian state entities: the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia. "A government that subsequently surrendered Artsakh and intends to surrender new Armenian territories. The ARFD has also made mistakes throughout history, but it has never worked against the state, never betrayed it, and has always fought for the rights of Armenian citizens," Saghatelyan concluded.